Google has already entered negotiations to offer local channels like BYU and Provo’s 17. Additionally, it is anticipated that they will offer stations similar to the Kansas City Lineup. Those include the following:

$50 package

3net

A&E

ABC Family

ABC News Now

Animal Planet

Baby TV

BBC America

BBC World News

BET

BET Gospel

Biography Channel

Bloomberg

BlueHighways TV

Boomerang

Bravo

Big Ten Network

Cartoon Network

C-SPAN

C-SPAN 2

C-SPAN 3

CBS Sports Network

Centric

Chiller

cloo

CMT

CMT Pure Country

CNBC

CNBC World

CNN

CNN en Español

CNN International

Comedy Central

Cooking Channel

Crime & Investigation Network

Current TV

Destination America

Discovery

Discovery en Español

Discovery Familia

Discovery Fit & Health

Disney Channel

Disney Junior

Disney XD

DIY

E! Entertainment

ESPN

ESPNews

ESPN2

ESPNU

ESPN Buzzer Beater

ESPN Classic

ESPN Deportes

ESPN Goal Line

Food Network

Fox Business Network

Fox College Sports Atlantic

Fox College Sports Central

Fox College Sports Pacific

Fox Deportes

Fox Movie Channel

Fox News Channel

Fox Soccer

Fox Soccer Plus

FS Kansas City

Fuel TV

FX

G4

GAC (Great American Country)

Galavision

Game Show Network

Golf Channel

H2

Hallmark Channel

Hallmark Movie Channel

Halogen

HGTV

History

History en Español

HLN

HSN

HSN2

INSP

Investigation Discovery

La Familia Cosmovision

Lifetime

Lifetime Movie Network

Lifetime Real Women

LOGO

Longhorn

MGM

Military Channel

Military History

MLB Network

MSNBC

MTV

MTV Hits

MTV Jams

MTV tr3s

MTV2

MTVU

mun2

NASA

Nat Geo Mundo

Nat Geo WILD

National Geographic Channel

NBC Sports Network

NFL Network

Nick 2

Nick Jr.

Nickelodeon

Nicktoons

Outdoor Channel

Ovation

OWN

Oxygen

Palladia

PBS Kids Sprout

QVC

REELZChannel

Science Channel

Smithsonian

SOAPnet

Speed

Spike TV

Sportsman Channel

Syfy

TBN

TBN Enlace

TBS

TCM: Turner Classic Movies

Teen Nick

Telefutura

Telemundo

Tennis Channel

The Hub

TLC

TNT

Travel Channel

truTV

TV Land

TVG

Universal

Univision Deportes

USA Network

Utilisima

Velocity

VH1

VH1 Classic

WealthTV

The Weather Channel

WGN America

Youtoo TV

Optional Add-Ons

Premium – $40

HBO***

Cinemax***

STARZ***

Showtime***

*** Includes all channels listed in the standalone version of the optional add-on below

I have had the opportunity to attend the community outreach meetings held by the city at Edgemont elementary as well as Spring Creek elementary. Mayor John Curtis has done an awesome job of explaining the struggle the city had with iProvo and how Google Fiber is an ideal solution to many of the problems we had with maintaining the network.

There has been very strong public support and attendance for the proposal.

During his explanation, he allows a rep named Jenna from Google to explain at a very high level what Google Fiber is, and then proceeds to explain how the city came to work with Google to find a solution to a difficult situation.

One thing that isn’t likely to go away is the monthly utility fee that the city had to impose to cover the costs of the iProvo buildout. Most residents are familiar with the $39 million dollar bond that was taken out to help pay for the iProvo buildout. This bond was secured by sales tax, so the city never really had the option of defaulting on the bond. In order to pay it a $5.40 monthly charge was added to every residential utility bill to cover the full cost of the bond.

Many people at the neighborhood meetings have asked what happens to their Veracity contracts. If you have an existing residential contract with Veracity you’re actually contracted with the city of Provo by proxy. You’ll be seamlessly switched over to Google without repercussions so if your contract is up for renewal, they Mayor indicated that you’re fine if you choose to renew the contract.

If you have a business account, then static IPs may be important to you. That was the first question I ever asked when I first met with Google reps, and is one which they’re actively looking to address in time for Provo going live. Google may choose to offer static ip addresses but does not have details on that product at the time. That service will only be offered in the form of a small business package of which details are forthcoming.

The cost of service will be similar to Kansas City with the free service being 5Mb down, 1MB up. The Gigabit service will be symettrical 1Gb up 1Gb down and cost $70. The TV package is an additional $50 though premium channels like HBO and Cinemax may cost extra. Google TV’s service does not offer pornography.

Yesterday I was spent a good portion of my afternoon meeting various members of the Google team assigned to Provo. Between them letting me play with their Google Pixel (one of them had solar panels built into his backpack to charge it) and discussions of static IP space, I reflected that Provo was in a fairly unique position.

We’re the first city in the world to have Google Fiber come in and offer to absorb and upgrade our municipal network. I had been hearing for years how there was no way a company like Google, or any other ISP for that matter would choose to take over the iProvo infrastructure.

They became interested in the network after the city issued a request for proposals on what to do with the network. The RFP wasn’t requiring anyone buy it, we just wanted to know what interesting options were out there.

Google was able to come up with some very interesting options.

They mentioned the importance of a community built around the idea of communication, and cited several examples of why Provo is an ideal option:

Provo has hundreds of startups and is a vibrant tech hub.

Provo is consistently ranked highly as an ideal location for businesses and a great place to live.

Provo has historically placed a huge value on connectivity and community.

And so, after roughly a year of discussion, we have their formal offer to connect Provo to Google Fiber. A key component of this offer involves providing a minimum 7 years free 5 megabit-per-second internet access to every resident.

A Gigabit is 1000 megabits. Those that recall dial-up internet connections may remember that their speeds maxes at 56 kilobits per second. That makes a gigabit internet connection almost 18,000 times faster than dial-up. Provo’s Google Fiber will allow computers to read and write data to the internet faster than most computers can write to a USB drive.

In past years, only large companies were able to access such speeds. You may have heard of a T1 line which your school or employer used to connect to the internet. Google Fiber is faster than 600 T1 lines. Cogent Communications gained a good deal of fame last year for offering 100 megabit connections for the bargain price of $1000 a month. Google Fiber is 10 times faster than that, and costs roughly $70.

Even today a commercial unmetered gigabit connection can easily cost more than $3,000 a month. Again, Google Fiber is offering this for $70. You may not need to open 1000 web pages in one second – but with Google fiber it’s not possible to backup every device in your home to a remote location, stream high def netflix to your laptop, let your children stream high def Hulu, and have someone playing online games all simultaneously without any lag or buffering – ever.

1) Google Fiber will put Provo on the map. Dozens of cities across the United States have been competing for a chance at Google Fiber for the past two years. Governors, mayors, and residents realize what an economic boon this kind of connection offers and have competed ceaselessly for the offer (one city even temporarily named itself “Google”). The minute this news breaks, major news outlets everywhere will spread the news that Provo is one of only three places in the nation (so far) to have access to Google Fiber. It will put our name out there and give us more positive national attention than we’ve probably ever received.

2) Google Fiber will attract talented, high-income residents. One of Provo’s greatest economic struggles is that, although we have a low cost of living, we also have relatively low wages. Lower wages have meant less spending money, less sales tax, and less for us to spend on things like roads and parks. Access to Google Fiber will be a massive incentive for the technologically-inclined, higher-income professionals that are trying to choose a place to call home. As an example: new Adobe employees in Lehi often choose between living in Provo or moving out to Salt Lake since the commute is about equal. This announcement just made that decision a whole lot easier.

3) Provo’s new fiber will attract tech businesses. Big time. Although Google Fiber is created as a residential service, it will be a huge incentive for business to start or re-locate here. Tech companies want happy nerds and nerds with a Google Fiber connection are the happiest of nerds. If anything can help realize the goals of the Silicon Slopes movement, it is letting a Utah community be one of the first ever to receive a Google Fiber connection.

4) Fiber could make downtown (even more of) a destination. Amazing things are happening downtown, but it could get even better. While we haven’t heard anything from Google regarding their plans for public service, they have announced generous free, wi-fi connections for multiple locations like schools, hospitals, and community centers in both Kansas and Austin. A wi-fi enabled downtown isn’t just a pipe dream, folks. If we can get Google Fiber to come to Provo, I think this one is in the realm of possibility. If we could connect the downtown corridor with free wi-fi, we could browse the internet while eating breakfast at Gurus or use an iPad to tweet about the latest in the Rooftop Concert Series.

5) Free internet will free up spending money. So, everyone in the city just saved around $40 – $70 a month (unless you’re going for one of the sweet package deals, of course). What happens with that money? Well, hopefully some of it gets spent in our unique downtown restaurants, our boutiques, the Riverwoods, the Farmer’s Market, etc. The more money that stays in the city, the more we’ll have to work with to improve our infrastructure, keep taxes low, and make Provo an even more amazing place to live.

6) Google Fiber will help us brand ourselves. Yes, Provo may be known as “happy valley.” But, it’s so much more. Google Fiber and the ways that we find to use it will help us brand ourselves without any marketing consultants needed. Let the world watch as we use this tool to show ourselves as the artists, scientists, writers, videographers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and adventurers that we are.

7) Google Fiber will make Provo the best place for self-employed people in the West. If you’re running a business from home, Provo will be absolutely ideal. Combine our low cost of living with the fastest, most reliable home internet and you’ve got a recipe for self-made success.

8) Jobs? Google Fiber’s got the jobs. We don’t know the details, but major upgrades to the fiber system means that people are going to be needed to manage, oversee, and install. This is especially true if Google is planning on installing fiber to every house in the city.

9) Create an even more thriving start-up culture. In Kansas, people are already creating start-up communities that host entrepreneurs traveling from around the world with the goal of combining their ideas with the power of fiber. Provo is just getting going with some amazing business incubators. Add Google Fiber and it will be hard to keep startups from flocking to our city.

10) Make the smart smarter. In a nutshell: fast internet is good for people. It has dozens of uses in education, science, medicine, and business. Google Fiber in Provo will have many uses for good that we haven’t even thought of. Sure, it will eliminate the buffering time on those YouTube puppy videos, but it will also help us create a community full of possibility and problem-solving. Ultimately, it will improve our economy. But, it will also improve our lives.

One of the questions that comes up when people hear about the super-fast internet speeds provided by the Google Fiber service is “What can I do with it that I couldn’t before?”. The first one is cloud-storage.

It wasn’t too long ago that storing your documents somewhere apart from your own computer wasn’t the best idea, mainly because your internet connection wasn’t nearly fast enough to push or pull video, entire photo albums, or music to and from the internet every day. Google Fiber (depending on the plan you get) comes with a ton of online storage, more than many laptops have and certainly much more than you get on your tablet or phone. More importantly, the speed is just as fast or faster than the average home network so sending a file to someone over the internet could be just as fast as the computer next to you. While cloud storage was certainly possible before, the dramatically improved internet speeds make it way more practical.

I’ve also been thinking about what that means for things like video calls and streaming. My existing internet connection from the last few years already has speeds fast enough for video conferencing. Google Fiber raises the standard: You could now have everyone in the house on different video calls without disrupting normal browsing or downloads. It has bandwidth to spare, instead of just enough to pull it off. Many websites won’t even be able to send as fast as you can receive, meaning it won’t slow your browsing down just because someone in the other room is watching youtube in HD. Perhaps more importantly, your youtube video shouldn’t have to get stuck buffering right in the middle.

So what else? It’s clear that this is going to be some seriously fast internet, but what are the benefits apart from just doing everything faster? The best part is that the next generation of technology is going to leverage faster speeds. My phone is already trying to automatically upload my pictures to my dropbox, facebook, or google plus account. When 1080p is old-school and everything is running in 4k (the next-generation of HD), you won’t have to upgrade your connection. The world already wants to use all the bandwidth you have, and getting Google Fiber should give you plenty of opportunity to let it.

bio

Sterling Beck is a 29 year old city councilman and broadband enthusiast. He has a degree in I.T. and an emphasis on fiber networks. Following an interest in fiber technology, he became involved in the discussion of the iProvo fiber network and was elected to the Provo Council with a promise of a better future for the city fiber network.
Contact sterling(@)sterlingbeck.com or 801-472-3160